Advanced Nurturing High School, or ANHS for short. This distinguished institution in Japan stood as the epitome of excellence, a beacon of academic and intellectual distinction.
Throughout its storied history, it had been instrumental in shaping the nation's most prominent statesmen, visionary scholars, and accomplished medical practitioners. The illustrious alumni of this high school had made unparalleled contributions, adorning Japan with a resplendent tapestry of achievements, distinction and pride.
However, this represented only one facet of the story---single side of the coin.
When confronted with the narrative of an institution consistently nurturing such exceptional, well-rounded students year after year, who excelled not only in education but also the general outlook of the world outside.
It became inevitable to scrutinise the underlying curriculum and decorum. Every aspect eventually becomes subjected to meticulous examination.
The same level of scrutiny held true for the esteemed ANHS.
This prestigious high school served as a crucible for the forging of bonds, where friendships blossomed, and love ignited with an intense fervor. Yet, it also bore witness to heart-wrenching breakups, unscrupulous backstabbings, and the relentless pursuit of immoral tactics and loopholes within the ostensibly "extremely strict" system, at times even descending into physical altercations---violence.
Admiration and love shared space with desire, lust, envy, scorn, and hate, creating a complex, turbulent maelstrom of emotions that thrived like wildflowers inside the garden named ANHS.
And that exact reason made it the breeding ground for the birth and formation of new Cursed Spirits. The whole school was infested by extremely high amounts of Cursed Energy, born out of the negative emotions---students and teachers alike.
"Well then, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. This is your mission. Exorcise the 1st grade spirit here to officially become a 1st grade sorcerer." The man who had taken me under his protection for almost a year now, Gojo Satoru spoke, flashing his pearl white teeth.
"Isn't this kind of discriminatory?" I asked, leaning my back against the bench as the heavy snowfall continued to fall down, weighing down on my shoulders like a wet blanket.
It was a tad bit prejudiced. Normally, a person becomes 1st Grade Sorcerer when two Grade 1 sorcerers file a recommendation for them. Following the counsel, that specified person is sent on a mission to determine whether they are worthy of the title or not by making a different Grade 1 sorcerer accompany them.
This is done to avoid bias and discrimination.
However...
"Is it? Well, who cares? Come on, come on. Let's get this going." Gojo sensei stood up, laughing as a cloud of mist escaped his mouth.
"I do." I replied.
Given his personality, he most probably has problems with the authorities. Not only does my recommendation comprise of a single individual, but I don't see any other person to test me. Seems like he has broken every rule to get me a rank. Not like they could do much about it.
He was someone who the higher ups could not contain. Unless a man hunt was issued. Even then it seems highly unlikely. However, the biggest drawback of this promotion would be me falling on to their radar. They'd definitely target me.
"And why is that?" He asked as the snow formed a small layer around his body, not entirely touching him.
Hm?
"I don't think I qualify as a Grade 1 sorcerer." I replied.
Suddenly, a smile flashed on his face. "So, you know your limits. That's a good sign. I wouldn't have mind giving you a higher rank anyways. But it is quite nice to see you knowing about your short comings." He spoke with a content expression. Looking up at the sky, a smile formed on his face. "Rank is a mere decoration."
That does not seem to be true. However, it seems like he is hinting at something else.
"That win was risky. But nothing comes without risks." All of a sudden, he placed his hand on my head. "Using binding vow in that way was unique. Personally, I've never seen anything like that. However, it won't always work. The cursed spirit you fought had the ability of speech, somehow. Its evaluation was wrong. I'd say it was Grade 1, on the upper side of the spectrum. However, the lack of experience with Jujutsu led it to its death. You have to be careful next time."
Gojo sensei explained.
"I understand."
There were a lot of things I still needed before I could accept a rank like that. My father is dead. That doesn't seem to be arising any problems for me in the future. It's still eerie though, for some reason.
"But you still want me to fight something here?" I asked, getting to the main point.
"Totally~ Who doesn't want their lover to see in action~" He snuggled closer to me, squirming as he touched me.
"Uh...ok?"
"Ah~ kya! D-Did you... You didn't de-deny it. Are we lovers now?"
"No."
"How cruel." He pouted, his shoulders slumping, long arms dangling to the side as he had a crestfallen look on his face. "Never mind all that. I wanted you to fight, however, the curses here are born of mostly envy and hate. They aren't mature because of our staff casting barriers and exorcisms every now and then."
"Uhh, and?"
"Well, for starters, these sprits are not good for your practice or technique development. Right now, what should take precedence for you is to awaken your technique. I think I will show you..." He spoke with a sassy grin, "...my powers. Maybe that can help you awaken your own Cursed Technique, or at the very least improve some of your understanding relating to it."
"Sure."
There was no reason to deny it. I have only heard about Gojo sensei from Yuta, about his strength and such. Even after witnessing how strong Yuta was, he only shivered when he remembered Gojo. According to him, taking just one punch from him caused Yuta to throw up.
That is to say, he definitely was holding back as well.
As he stood up, both of us walked towards the Keyaki Mall. At this hour, there was only an unsettling silence haunting every nook and cranny of the place, the occasional sound of unintelligent cursed sprits either wailing or relishing the negative emotions that never left the expanse of this school.
"Soooo, Kiyotaka-kun. What was it that you wanted from the girl? I can tell it wasn't because you missed her." Gojo sensei suddenly spoke, his hands resting inside his pockets.
"I figured you'd send me here regardless, as I said before, hence I came here to conserve some time." I replied, looking down at my hands as small, powdery flakes accumulated in the center of my palm.
"Hehe, that's a lie." He giggled to himself, turning around, "Your cursed energy is stable now, compared to the last time I saw you. Something definitely happened. What is it?"
"Nothing, really."
He scrunched his brows, however, shrugged with his arms immediately afterwards. "Well, whatever."
Shrugging of the situation nonchalantly, he started walking to the back side of the mall again. It seemed like no matter how big the risk was, he doesn't really care about it. Is it the carefree attitude that comes with being the strongest?
Hmm...
"Can you sense it?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.
As the thoughts running in my mind subsided, the familiar chill gripped me, pointing towards the fact that there was a Cursed Spirit nearby.
No, not just nearby, we were entirely surrounded by them. Looking around, I saw them infesting every corner of the back alley like termites eating away at furniture. It has been a little time since I left this place, and it feels kind of nostalgic now that I am back here.
I guess.
"I can."
"That's good to know. You have improved. A lot more than I anticipated." He smiled, patting my head, "Now, Kiyotaka-kun! Do you know the difference between simply using cursed energy and imbuing it in a technique?"
"I think I know the difference. But I have yet to achieve it. Partially because I have yet to awaken my technique." I looked down at my palm, "Given that I have any."
A wide jeer formed on his face, his teeth flashing in the dark. "In normal cases, the amount of cursed energy that you possess is enough for you to overwhelm most opponents. However..." He paused, waiting for me to finish his sentence.
"...things are not always that convenient?"
"Full points! Wohoo!" He pointed both his index fingers at me, performing a rather weird pose. "Anyways, I am guessing other than physical training Miguel and Yuta were not of my help, right? When it comes to awakening your technique, I mean."
"Hmm. Yes. I thought the binding vow I made could be made as my own technique, however, it didn't work no matter how many times I had tried." I explained, remembering my fight with the cursed spirit.
"Of-course, it was bound to fail. The implications in that were something that would only work during a binding vow. Well, putting that aside, let me explain it to you in simple terms." He pointed his middle and index finger at me, making a gun sign.
The next moment, the sound of a wet squelch reached my ears, followed by a sensation of a bucket of smelly liquid falling on my back. Looking behind, I saw a cursed spirit, its upper body blown away as it fell to the ground.
"You didn't notice this one." He explained, and from the looks of it, it seemed like his mind wandered of somewhere else, "There are many cases in which a presence can be masked amidst the presence of many other cursed energy signatures. Look out for those."
"Hmm."
He was right. After my victory against the high-level cursed spirit, I thought I was getting any better, however, it was not the case at all. The cursed spirit he had just exorcised was not any stronger than the one I faced before, however, it still managed to creep up to me, taking advantage of the other similarly strong signatures.
There is still a lot to learn.
"Back to the main topic, what you just saw was a raw, unfiltered usage of cursed energy. Or in simple words, something that you are capable of right now. Can you augment your body?"
"Yes."
"But can you increase the concentration of cursed energy in one spot in case a very strong blow is coming?"
"No."
"That is because you still need to learn the flow of cursed energy inside and outside your body. For someone who is so emotionally debilitated, it might prove a little hard." He explained as he raised his finger, twirling it around, "You see, sorcerers use Cursed Energy using a very minute spark, which of course, comes from a small ignition in the negative emotions. Of course, sorcerers also train to not lose or leak a huge amount of Cursed Energy when their mind is in a state of emotional turmoil."
He looked up and smiled.
"That shouldn't be a worry for you. But because it is a blessing, it might be a curse for you as well. Lack of any kind of emotion results in a lesser chance of producing that spark. I am sure you are aware how difficult it is for you to even cover your body in Cursed Energy."
He wasn't wrong. Igniting this spark of a negative emotion was hard.
"One of the methods I would've suggested was to let your mind come up with a hypothetical situation about anything that would make you sad, envious or even mad. But then again, your rationality will stop you from that."
He knows too much. Scary.
"Now look at this." He spoke and flicked his wrist.
The next moment, a cursed spirit right above his head got twisted, turning around viciously before its body got torn apart, slowly withering away as it as exorcised. "See? It is that simple! Now you try it! Come on! Come on! I am rooting for ya!"
"Uhh..."
Is he expecting me to do it right now?
Well, he was not wrong when he said I have quite a hard time while igniting a spark to use cursed energy for something as basic as augmentation, but he is indeed wrong about something.
I am not exactly emotionally handicapped. I feel happiness, sadness, envy... even regret. However, the nature of these feelings and the cause of them are something that is not relatable at all with a regular human.
Because after all, in the end, all that matters is me.
Maybe it was the spur of the moment, or rather the selfish thought of not considering anyone else as worthy enough, I extended my hand towards one of the curses. A small spark ignited, giving rise to a rather sudden combustion of cursed energy as it surged throughout my body.
"Woah! You did it. Nice!" Gojo sensei gave me a thumbs up, smirking.
"S-Stay a-aw-awayyyy~ Don't- Don't- Noooo~"
A disorienting voice made him look away from me, looking in the direction of the voice.
"Don't touch me... don't... hehehehe... touch... touch... TOUCH ME~"
The ground beneath me shook as suddenly a curse came forward, its face right next to me.
"Red."
All I heard was one word, and then a small red orb blasted into the side of the curse, making it crash into the nearby wall. It was not exorcised, but it was pretty badly damaged.
Suddenly the curse and its origin made sense.
"Oh..."
"Did you figure something out?"
"Kind of."
"What is it?"
"There was an employee working here that was trying to molest a classmate in this exact back alley. I think she was not the only one." I replied, watching the cursed spirit get back up.
It had a huge head, with an ugly face, a feature common amongst low-ranking curses. Its face had huge blisters, looking like volcanic bubbles, ready to pop and burst at any moment.
"Woooh! Wait, no, this is perfect! HAAAH! Kiyo-chan!"
Gojo sensei cried out as one of the blisters exploded, a rush of corrosive liquid rushing towards me. The previous spark that had ignited the cursed energy inside me spread around me, forming a thin layer as I rolled over and dodged the attack.
Looking in his direction, I waited for him to finish his sentence. A small layer of the corrosive liquid had formed around him, stopping just short of touching him.
"Yo, Kiyo-chan!" He looked at with an excited look, "Exorcise this!"
This guy can't be serious.
However, much to my own displeasure, he was serious. Evident from the fact that he had teleported away, leaving me with the weird curse and countless other small ones.
'I can't seem to catch a break.'
(**************)
A/n
I kind of just came up with a cursed technique for Kiyo, and some backstory of his father that will a lot of changes later on RIGHT NOW. Yes, I came up with just now. Anyways, expect this fic to get updated more often. Since I ordered a Gojo Plushie recently, I really want to update this one. Hehe.
Anyways, drop a comment for some possible suggestions for his ability regardless. And leave a vote for a high quality, highly irregular updates.
See ya soon.